After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 103

Upstairs in the lounge, Jeffrey and Stephen sat face to face. Without looking back, Stephen ordered Bernard and

bodyguards, “Leave us. | have something private to discuss with Jeffrey.”

Bernard responded, then left the room with the two bodyguards.

Stephen turned to Jeffrey and asked, “Will you ask your friend to leave? | assyou wouldn't want him to hear

what we're about to discuss.”

Stanley just glanced sideways, quietly watching. It was obvious he was doing whatever Jeffrey wanted.

“No need,” Jeffrey replied calmly. “I don’t have anything to hide.”

Stephen chuckled softly, a smirk playing on his lips. “Let's see if you can still say that later.”

Jeffrey was nothing like Stephen. Jeffrey didn’t give a damn if Stephen had dirt on him or if anyone figured out his

weak spots. Without beating around the bush, Jeffrey asked, “What are you doing with Rebecca?”

“Just having a heart-to-heart,” Stephen replied, cool as ever.

“Really? You need all this just to talk?” Jeffrey eyed the whole elaborate setup. ‘There was no way Stephen

bought that it was just srandom chat,’ he thought.

“Not for an ordinary heart-to-heart, no.” Stephen drawled, leisurely taking off his glasses. “But | was talking to

her about your childhood. And | showed her a few photos, for good measure.”

Jeffrey’s whole vibe turned ice cold in an instant. Stephen slid his glasses back on, drawling out each word. “Oh?

She didn’t mention anything to you?”

Stanley shot Jeffrey a worried look, heart twisting a little. The last thing Jeffrey ever wanted was to talk about his

childhood.

That part of his life was locked away, buried deep where nobody could reach. Even Stanley had always known

better than to go there.

Stephen bringing it up with Rebecca was like poking at a lion’s sore spot, messing with Jeffrey at his most

vulnerable.

“She knows | hate talking about that stuff,” Jeffrey said, feeling much calmer thanks to Rebecca’s gentle

instincts. “That kind of automatic care and real love... I'm guessing you've never experienced it, have you?”

Stephen's eyes glinted for a split second behind his glasses, betraying a hint of something hard to read.

“You only ever care about power and your own interests,” Jeffrey said, not pulling any punches.

“Well, take a look at this,” Stephen said, pulling up a photo on his phone and sliding it across the table. “I

showed her this one, too.”

Jeffrey lowered his eyes. The moment the photo cinto view, his heart skipped a beat. Memories were

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instantly pulled back to the past, to that sunny, energetic person who always wore a smile, as if he were still

alive.

“So what?” Jeffrey replied, his voice steady. “It’s just a photo.” Stanley blinked, staring at Jeffrey in total

confusion.

Stephen's brows furrowed slightly. He knew very well how much that incident had affected Jeffrey. After that,

even if their parents mentioned a single word about it, Jeffrey would react fiercely. ‘Why was he reacting this.

way now?‘ Stephen wondered.

“You've gone to all this trouble to block me, even tried to control Stanley. So what's your real goal?” Jeffrey

asked, his voice calm and collected, like he'd settled into unshakeable resolve.

Stephen's gaze stayed fixed on him, scrutinizing every detail. The air in the lounge grew heavy, tension pressing

in from all sides.

After watching Jeffrey for a bit and still unable to tell if he was truly unfazed or just putting on a show, Stephen

finally spoke, his tone deliberate. “Didn’t | already tell you?”

Jeffrey's eyes were colder than midnight, deep as an endless abyss, giving nothing away.

He didn’t believe Stephen went through all this just to tell Rebecca about his past. If he really wanted to, he

could have said it anytime, anywhere, without making such a big deal out of it.

“The PrimePlay Technologies awards ceremony should start soon. Want to go check it out?” Stephen switched

topics. “Rebecca might be taking ha prize.”

Jeffrey stayed silent. He just looked at Stephen, his eyes steady and unreadable.

“Since you don’t want to talk, I'll see myself out,” Stephen said, standing and pushing up his glasses. He walked

out of the lounge unhurriedly. Jeffrey didn’t say a single word the whole time.

Everything replayed in Stanley's mind as he hesitated, words catching in his throat. “Jeffrey...

That photo was a gut punch. Stanley honestly worried Jeffrey would get swallowed up by those old memories

again.

“What do you think Stephen’s endgis?” Jeffrey asked, racking his brain for an answer, but nothing added

up.

Stanley couldn't help feeling a bit lost. Honestly, he'd never seen Jeffrey so calm while dealing with a mess like

this. Back in the day, Jeffrey would have totally unraveled.

“Why are you looking atlike that?” Jeffrey shot him a sidelong glance.

“Stephen just dropped a whole lot on you,” Stanley said, keeping it vague, not wanting to dig too deep in case

Jeffrey was just pretending to be okay. “Are you sure you're alright?”

“I'm fine,” Jeffrey replied.

If it had been before, he might have had semotional reaction. But before coming up, he asked Rebecca;

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Stephen had clearly told her about it and even showed her the photos, yet she didn’t mention a word.

No matter how much the mess with Andrea had hurt her, Rebecca still kept Jeffrey’s shattered pride and aching

heart safe from harm.

If she could have Jeffrey's back like that, there was no way Jeffrey had ever let someone else mess with his head.

“Really? You're okay?” Stanley asked, his voice soft and a little uncertain.

Jeffrey turned his head, his strikingly handsface as casual as ever, and replied with a simple “Yeah.”

Stanley still felt a bit lost, but he decided not to dig any further. As long as Jeffrey was fine, that was the best

outcanyway.

“While you were stuck here by his secretary, did you catch anything from what they said?” Jeffrey asked, still

feeling uneasy about what Stephen was really after coming here.

“No.” Stanley shook his head. “The three of them acted like their mouths had padlocks.” Jeffrey’s gaze grew a

more serious shade.

Stanley chewed over everything. “What if his goal really is just what he said? Like, maybe all that stuff with

keepingout and setting up that car crash was just a smokescreen to mess with us.”

Jeffrey went quiet, mulling it over. ‘Sure, that was possible. But deep down, I just couldn't believe it was really

that simple,” he thought.

Not to mention that Stephen’s appearance at the PrimePlay Technologies’ tenth-anniversary celebration would

make the financial news and be known to their parents, just the fact that he was backing Rebecca would be hard

to hide from the one he was keeping at home.

Their relationship was definitely complicated, and Stephen never admitted her existence to the public, but Jeffrey

was sure she still mattered to Stephen in his own way, even if he never said it out loud.

Causing all this trouble just to throw a minor obstacle in his way wasn’t Stephen’s style.

“Keep a close watch on Rebecca these next few days,” Jeffrey said, still feeling uneasy. He had no idea what

Stephen was really planning, so he'd rather stay on guard.

“Maybe you should just do it yourself?” Stanley said, looking defeated after today’s events. “I don’t think | stand

a chance against Stephen. I'm scared I'll slip up.”

“I've

got

other things to deal with. Con, trust yourself,” Jeffrey replied, his eyes deep and unwavering.

He still hadn't dealt with whatever was going on between Stephen and Andrea. The way things played out

tonight was almost like Stephen wanted to put their whole messy connection on display for everyone.

He just couldn’t figure out when Andrea had even gotten mixed up with Stephen. For now, none of those

questions had a real answer.

Jeffrey didn’t dwell on it too much. Whatever the case, he would get everything clarified when they got back.

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Chapter 103

Right now, the most important thing was to wait for the celebration tonight to end.

20 vol

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Chapter 104